Monthly Archives: December 2015

Crumbs Add Up

December 29, 2015

The Fighter Verses Study You probably have noticed our emphasis on Scripture memory in the month of December with the release of our new Fighter Verses Study and related resources. And, you may feel a little overwhelmed by the thought of a systematic Bible memory program during this busy holiday season. Like me, you may feel tempted to say, “I just don’t have the time right now!” I found this illustration over at the Gospel Coalition to be really encouraging:

The demands of life swamp my days. I might as well drain the Everglades as carve out an entire morning for memorizing Scripture.

Teaching Vision Encouragement Parenting Fighter Verses

They WILL Memorize Something

December 28, 2015

My granddaughter—a mere two years old—is already memorizing. She is not exceptional in this regard. Children have an amazing God-given ability and inclination to memorize. The question becomes: What will they memorize? In this short video clip, Pastor David and Sally Michael talk about making the most of these young years. https://vimeo.com/149695400

News

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2015

This Christmas, may you and your family worship Jesus, the Savior of the world, the King of Kings, who is most special of all.

Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

We wish you the merriest Christmas! David, Sally, Jill, Brian, Terry, Holly, Karen, Betty, Suzy, Nicole, Annie and Rachel

Teaching Vision Parenting Theology

Star Wars, the Classroom, and a Biblical Worldview

December 23, 2015

The year I spent teaching 7^th-8^th grade was eye-opening for me. One of the surprises was the size of the role television and movies played in the lives of students in this age group. Why is this true for so many students (including many adults)? One reason is that visual media has a unique ability to captivate our hearts and minds. And with that captivation comes the ability to influence how we think and feel. This Christmas season, many of our students will be eagerly going to the movie theater to see the newly released Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Most will judge the movie simply in terms of its entertainment value: it’s fun, exciting, has great special effects, etc. These are all valid means for evaluating a movie, but they shouldn’t be the only means, or even the main means. Let's guide our students beyond this and help them to evaluate everything—even the movies they watch through the lens of Scripture. One way to

Vision Encouragement Parenting

Creative Idea: Next Generation Prayer Calendar

December 22, 2015

Last year, our daughter and son-in-law received a personalized family calendar as a Christmas gift. Every month displayed a beautiful picture of their children. It was a wonderful gift! This year my daughter decided to take the idea a step further by combining a family calendar with the CDG resource, Praying for the Next Generation. The prayer booklet, written by Sally Michael, offers 12 topics for prayer with suggested Scriptures. My daughter simply incorporated a prayer topic along with each of the 12 pictures on the calendar. So, for example, along with a picture of your children for the month of January, you could incorporate the first prayer topic…

Pray that they would know Christ as Savior early in life and treasure their inheritance as sons of God; that they will not accept Satan’s designs against them but walk in the light as heirs of the kingdom.

You might also want to include some specific

Vision News

A New Year and a New Nonprofit—Children Desiring God!

December 21, 2015

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings… (Daniel 2:21a)

We mark time predominantly in God’s good design of years. This is why, when a year comes to a close, individuals and organizations often look back in a time of reflection. What were our goals for the year? Were they realized? What unexpected events played a major role in the year’s outcome? Was I faithful to influence these outcomes? It is good for us reflect on questions such as these and recognize that it is God Himself who changes times and seasons. He establishes and removes earthly rulers…God is in control of all things, and He works in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. God’s Work for CDG in 2015 One of many ways God worked for CDG this past year was in the establishment of a new nonprofit. Since 1997, CDG has functioned as a division of Desiring God. But in late October, we received notice from the IRS that our

Teaching Worship Encouragement Parenting

A Missing Book in Our Homes and Churches?

December 14, 2015

No, I am not referring to the Bible here…That is an obvious must in our homes and churches. But there is a certain type of book that is increasingly overlooked. A book that, throughout the history of the Church, commends itself to passing on to the next generation sound doctrine and God-centered worship. What is this book? A hymnal. Hymns have a very special place in my heart. I don’t remember a single sermon from my childhood, but I remember the great hymns of faith we sang in church. In college, away from home for the first time, I gathered with other believers on our secular campus, and we spent a significant amount of time singing hymns together. While my future husband and I were courting, we would go for long walks and sing hymns together. Our wedding march was the hymn And Can It Be. Our children grew up surrounded by hymns and grew to love them, too. There has always been a hymnal in our home—a go-to resource for times of joyful praise, tearful

Teaching Vision Events Parenting Theology

They Need the Whole Counsel of God

December 09, 2015

A lot of thought and prayer goes into choosing the focus of our national conferences. “Persevering in the Whole Counsel of God—What’s at Stake for the Next Generation” is no exception. This recent video clip from Dr. Russell Moore, “You Need the Whole Bible (Even If You Don’t Know Why),” really gets to the heart of the matter. Whether or not you plan to attend our conference (and we would LOVE you to come!), this three-minute video is a must see. https://vimeo.com/146050524

Vision Encouragement Parenting Theology

Trust in God and Be Faithful

December 08, 2015

Over the years, I have read a lot of great Christian parenting books. My favorite, thus far, has been William Farley’s, Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting. It contains 200-plus pages of biblical parenting wisdom. But for those parents who need some quick, practical parenting reminders this week, Monergism has posted a wonderful (and short) article by Geoffrey Kirkland, “5 Reminders for Christian Parents.” Here are his five reminders with a few choice quotes:

Be a faithful Christian. (Piety)

Perhaps the simplest and most foundational reminder that I could proffer